Council Tax: Appeals

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many council tax appeals relating to England have been considered in  (a) 2005-06,  (b) 2006-07 and  (c) 2007-08 to date by the Valuation Tribunal Service; what proportion and how many resulted in a lower council tax banding for the householder.

John Healey: The Valuation Tribunal Service (VTS) has held information centrally on the number of successful appeals since the beginning of 2006-07.
	
		
			   Number of council tax appeals received  Number of council tax appeals considered by tribunals  Percentage of considered appeals that were allowed or allowed in part 
			 2005-06 21,805 n/a n/a 
			 2006-07 27,130 5,274 12.25 
			 2007-08 (to 31 December 2007) 25,141 4,176 19.01 
			 n/a = not available 
		
	
	It is wrong to assume that all banding appeals are about reducing a property's banding. An appeal can be made on other grounds, such as how a previously single dwelling should be split up into a number of separate units (e.g. flats), and from what date the change should appear in the valuation list. The VTS does not currently keep information on whether allowing an appeal, in full or in part, results in a change of banding.

Housing: Expenditure

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information she holds on the percentage of gross national product spent on  (a) housing and  (b) affordable social housing in each OECD country (i) in the last year for which figures are available and (ii) in 1997.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 19 November 2007
	Communities and Local Government do not hold data on the percentage of gross national product spent on  (a) housing and  (b) affordable social housing in each of the OECD countries. There is data available on the percentage of gross domestic product spent on housing by OECD countries where data is available on the OECD website. Details can be found at:
	http://stats.oecd.org/wbos/default.aspx?datasetcode=SOCX_AGG
	There are a number of drop down menus on this page that allow you to select housing expenditure in both public or private sectors.

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  to what extent a homebuyer has liability for the  (a) Homebuy Agent's and  (b) Yorkshire Building Society's equity loss if their home purchased under 32.5 per cent. Open Market Homebuy scheme is subsequently sold at less than the purchase price;
	(2)  under the 32.5 per Open Market Homebuy scheme, what liability the Homebuy Agent has for  (a) their own and  (b) Yorkshire Building Society's equity loss if a property is subsequently sold for less than the original purchase price.

Caroline Flint: The information requested can be found in the booklet 'Exclusive Open Market HomeBuy Mortgage—for those eligible to buy a home under the Government's Open Market HomeBuy Scheme', a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.

Housing: Planning

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to consult hon. Members on bids for housing growth points in their constituencies submitted by local authorities.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 17 January 2008
	I look to those local authorities who have submitted expressions of interest to be growth points to consult with hon. Members as necessary. However, I am aware that an informal briefing session about potential growth points in the north-west was held in the House in December by Government office north-west, to which hon. Members in relevant constituencies were invited to attend.

Housing: Renewable Energy

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what events and conferences  (a) she and  (b) other Ministers from her Department have addressed relating to (i) the construction and housebuilding industry and (ii) the renewable energy industry since July 2006.

Iain Wright: Since July 2006 Communities and Local Government Ministers have attended the following events and conferences relating to the construction, housebuilding and renewable energy industry:
	
		
			  Ministers  Event/conference details 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (18 July 2006) New Local Government Network 
			 Secretary of State—Ruth Kelly (19 July 2006) Keynote Speech at Housing Design Awards 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (21 September 2006) Official opening of the Osborne Demonstration House at the Building Research Establishment 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (10 October 2006) Speech to Housing Market Intelligence Conference 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Baroness Andrews (31 October 2006) Speech to National Skills Forum networking Event on Industry Skills for Sustainable Communities 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (1 November 2006) Keynote speech at the first Housing Corporation Gold Award conference 
			 Secretary of State—Ruth Kelly (12 December 2006) A visit to the BowZED development 
			 Secretary of State—Ruth Kelly (13 December 2006) Launch of the consultation on zero carbon new homes, "Towards Zero Carbon Development" event hosted by WWF 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (13 December 2006) The Town and Country Planning Association's "Corporate Fellows Briefing and Consultation Meeting: Climate Change Policies and Regulation" 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (22 January 2007) The Town and Country Planning Association's "Planning for Climate Change" conference 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (9 January 2007) Home Builders Federation's zero carbon homes roundtable summit 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (7 February 2007) DLA Piper's "Cooling the Planet" conference 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Baroness Andrews (20 February 2007) Speech to British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA) on Community Regeneration 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Angela Smith (8 March 2007) Speech to the Construction Products Association Council Lunch 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Angela Smith (20 March 2007) Visit to the Thamesmead Ecopark by Gallions Housing Association 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Angela Smith (22 March 2007) Jointly run conference by the Home Builders Federation and the Energy Saving Trust entitled "The House that Bjorn Built" 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (25 March 2007) Home Builders Federation AGM 
			 Secretary of State—Ruth Kelly (4 April 2007) Green Alliance summit on "Local Government and Climate Change" 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (18 April 2007) Housing Forum National Conference 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Angela Smith (26 April 2007) "Zero Carbon New Homes—Gaining clarification and exploring practical solutions" conference hosted by Construction News 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (2 May 2007) Speech at Building Futures' "Futures Fair 2007" 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (15 May 2007) Speech to BURA on climate change and Code for Sustainable Homes 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Angela Smith (15 May 2007) Royal Institute of British Architects "Zero Carbon Homes" conference 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (24 May 2007) Speech to Campaign for More and Better Homes national conference 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (6 June 2007) HBF Zero Carbon Homes Roundtable Summit 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (11 June 2007) Keynote speech at BRE's Offsite 2007 
			 Secretary of State-Ruth Kelly (19 June 2007) Keynote speech to Chartered Institute for Housing Annual Conference 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Angela Smith (21 June 2007) A visit to Testway Housing's new environmentally sustainable housing development 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (26 June 2007) The Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes annual conference 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (17 July 2007) The Local Government Association's conference on the Planning White Paper 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (17 July 2007) A seminar from the Associate Parliamentary Renewable and Sustainable Energy Group 
			 Secretary of State—Hazel Blears (6 September 2007) Speech at Great Places Housing Group Annual Reception 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (19 September 2007) National Housing Federation's annual conference 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (9 October 2007) National House-Building Council's Housing Market Intelligence conference 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (10 October) Speech to Housing Market Intelligence Conference 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (15 October 2007) The District Leaders Sounding Board event 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Iain Wright (25 October, 2007) Speech on regeneration to BURA Sustainable Communities Summit 2007 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Iain Wright (25 October 2007) BURA's "Sustainable Communities Summit: 2007 the Challenge of National Regeneration" 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (30 October 2007) Launch of WWF's Housebuilders Benchmarking report 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (30 October 2007) "Eco Towns" event hosted by the Princess Foundation 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (8 November 2007) Adelaide Wharf launch 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Iain Wright (9 November 2007) Confederation of British Industry "More Affordable? More Sustainable?" conference 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (14 November 2007) Keynote Speech to English Partnerships' Open Meeting 2007 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Baroness Andrews (14 November 2007) Berkeley Group event—Planning and Lifetime Homes 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Baroness Andrews (19 November 2007) Launch event for the Lifetime Neighbourhood's 
			 Minister for Housing and Planning—Yvette Cooper (22 November) Launch of the Calcutt Review of Housebuilding Delivery 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Iain Wright (29 November 2007) Housing Magazine event 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Baroness Andrews (12 December 2007) Seminar—Building Better Communities 
			 Secretary of State—Hazel Blears (4 December 2007) Keynote Speech to LGA/Energy Saving Trust Conference 'Climate Change: your council, your climate, your action' 
			 Parliamentary Under-Secretary—Iain Wright (5 December 2007) Construction Industry Council Dinner 
			 Minister for Local Government—John Healey (29 January 2008) Centre for Cities event

Right to Buy Scheme: Social Rented Housing

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the likely effect on housing need if the right to buy policy is extended to registered social landlord tenants; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Government want to widen access to home ownership and help more people, including social tenants, build up assets.
	Most registered social landlord (RSL) tenants have right to acquire or preserved right to buy. However, approximately 30 per cent. of RSL tenants do not have any right to purchase.
	Social HomeBuy was introduced as a voluntary pilot scheme in April 2006 to provide new opportunities for social tenants who do not have right to buy or right to acquire or cannot afford outright purchase, to but a share of their rented home. 77 RSLs and nine local authorities are currently offering the pilot scheme to their tenants.
	The Government announced in December 2007 that Social HomeBuy will continue as a voluntary scheme to increase opportunities for social housing tenants to access home ownership, when the pilot period ends in March.

Seas and Oceans: Planning

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions her Department has had with officials from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on  (a) marine spatial planning and  (b) planning for major infrastructure developments in the marine environment.

John Healey: Officials from my Department are members of the Working Group preparing the Marine Bill. They have had detailed discussions with Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs about a range of issues, including those on concern in the question. The Planning Bill gives effect to the results of those discussions.

Armed Forces: Foreigners

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures are used to return non-UK citizens serving in the armed forces to their country of origin on discharge  (a) if they have completed basic training,  (b) on completing their engagement and  (c) before they have completed their engagement.

Bob Ainsworth: Non-UK citizens wishing to join the UK armed forces travel to the UK at their own expense and we do not normally return them to their countries of origin at public expense when they are discharged. It is therefore very much a personal decision, in line with Home Office policy, as to whether non-UK citizens return to their country of origin on discharge. An individual will normally be granted 28 days upon discharge to allow time for an application for further leave to remain to be lodged, or depart the UK. Once an application is lodged they are able to remain in the UK legally while the application is processed.
	The only exception to the rules is for Gurkhas, who are enlisted in Nepal and brought to the UK at public expense, and are now discharged in the UK and then returned to Nepal (if they wish) at public expense.
	These policies have been agreed with the Home Office in order to ensure that they are not abused. They balance recognition of service in the British Armed forces towards naturalisation with preventing its use as an improper method of entry into the UK.

NATO: Finance

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what NATO's total common founding budget was in each of the last 10 years.

Des Browne: NATO's total common-funded budget for 1998 to 2007 was as follows:
	
		
			  NATO  military budget,  security investment programme (NSIP). a nd civil budget expenditure 199 to  2007 
			  £ million 
			  NATO Common fund  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007( 3) 
			 Military budget(1) 625.6 653.0 717.6 709.3 749.0 761.4 788.6 855.3 960.2 1030.0 
			 NSIP(1) 410.6 582.0 678.6 546.3 731.4 678.7 652.1 606.7 582.1 640.0 
			 Civil budget(2) 144.9 148.6 150.7 155.0 167.0 170.4 171.6 175.9 181.1 186.1 
			 Total 1,181.1 1,383.6 1,546.9 1,410.6 1,647.4 1,610.5 1,612.3 1,637.9 1,723.4 1,856.1 
			 (1) Actual expenditure (2) Approved budgets (3) Estimate

Christmas

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department' agencies spent on  (a) Christmas cards and  (b) postage of Christmas cards in each year since 1997.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA came into being in June 2001. The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. In 2006 and 2007, core-DEFRA did not produce physical Christmas cards opting instead for a selection of e-greetings cards chosen following an internal design competition and made available for all staff to use. Accordingly, no postage costs were incurred.

Farms: Norfolk

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms closed in Norfolk in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: Information on the number of holdings is collected in the annual June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture. Information is not collated on the number of holdings closing. The following figures show the number of registered holdings at June each year. These figures show net change only and therefore include gains as well as losses.
	
		
			   Total holdings in Norfolk 
			 2002 6,511 
			 2003 6,589 
			 2004 6,751 
			 2005 6,783 
			 2006 6,658 
			  Notes: 1 Estimates are based on a sample survey and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling error. 2. Register improvement exercises, animal health requirements and the introduction of the Single Payment Scheme in 2005 have led to an increase in the number of holdings registered. 3. While in the majority of cases a farm holding equates to a farm business some farm businesses are made up of more than one holding. 4. Changes can occur in the ownership and status of the holding which may not necessarily be reflected in the above figures. 5. Information on the de-registration of VAT registered holdings is available from the Office of National Statistics.  Source: June Survey of Agriculture

Waste Disposal: Incinerators

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether he plans to consult local authorities on the implications for incineration waste disposal costs of reclassification of bottom ash as hazardous waste;
	(2)  what considerations he has give to the merits of reclassifying bottom ash from incinerators as hazardous waste;
	(3)  what discussions his Department has held with other EU governments on the classification of bottom ash waste from incinerators.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 29 January 2008
	Revisions to the approved supply list (ASL) (version 8) introduced an ecotoxic classification for zinc oxide, one of the substances which is likely to be present in incinerator bottom ash (IBA). Zinc substances now need to be considered, in addition to lead and other ecotoxic heavy metals, when classifying and disposing of this kind of waste.
	Since there is the potential for potentially ecotoxic metal substances in incinerator bottom ash (IBA) to exist in non-ecotoxic form, I understand that the waste industry is currently developing a protocol for ecotoxicity testing of IBA.
	DEFRA and the Environment Agency both consider that the classification of IBA will remain non-hazardous pending the results of direct testing, which is being carried out as part of this work.
	DEFRA has not discussed the classification of IBA with other member states.

Whales: Japan

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if he will seek to place the recent report by a panel of independent legal experts on the legality of the Japanese whaling industry on the agenda of the annual meeting of the International Whaling Congress in Santiago in June 2008 for consideration by the parties;
	(2)  what representations he has received on the legality of the Japanese whaling industry; what research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on this subject; and what plans he has to raise this matter with the (i) Japanese government and (ii) International Whaling Commission.

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has had discussions with the Australian government on potential legal action against Japanese whaling activities in the Southern Ocean; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA is aware of the recent report commissioned by International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) which questioned the legality of Japan's whaling under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).
	Following the recent announcement that Japan intended to take 50 humpback whales in the Southern Ocean as part of its JARPA II whaling programme, the UK CITES Management Authority wrote to the CITES Secretariat asking for clarification on the legal position. We have drawn the contents of their reply to the attention of the EU CITES Management Committee, which will consider it at its next meeting in April. Japan subsequently announced it will not target humpbacks, but will still target minke and endangered fin whales
	DEFRA has also received representations from Greenpeace UK and IFAW about the legality of Japanese whaling under CITES. A number of hon. Members have also made representations in support of IFAW's position.
	We will continue our efforts, along with other countries, to urge Japan to reconsider their position on whaling. In the build up to the annual International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Chile (IWC60) and in discussion with other like-minded anti-whaling countries, we will consider all reports and options, including all legal avenues available.

Arms Trade

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information the Government collates on the activities of individual arms dealers, with particular reference to those who are reported to have  (a) broken UN sanctions and  (b) supplied countries where UK armed forces are operating.

Jim Murphy: The Export Control Organisation at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform is the licensing authority for strategic exports in the UK. It sets out the regulatory framework under which licence applications are considered, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise, Regulatory Reform takes the formal decision to issue or refuse export licence or refuse export licence applications in accordance with the appropriate legislation and announced policy. Information about arms brokers who have had their proposed export licence application either refused or revoked is shared with HM Revenue and Customs and the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office to ensure that the decision is enforced. Where the Government receives information that an exporter has attempted to circumvent export control rules, the relevant Government departments and agencies will take action. For example, the arms broker John Knight was recently jailed for four years for breaching export controls relating to a brokered transaction between Kuwait and Iraq. This case illustrates that the legislation introduced under the Trade in Goods (Control) Order 2004 is making an impact.
	The UK has one of the most rigorous and transparent export licensing regimes in the world. All licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against "The Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria". The criteria cover in detail how we assess each case. Specifically criterion 5b states: "the risk of the goods concerned being used against UK forces". If there appears to any risk of this being the case, a licence will not be issued.

Cyprus

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2008,  Official Report, column 851W, on Cyprus, if he will place in the Library the full itinerary of the visit to Cyprus by the Government's Special Representative to Cyprus, the hon. Member for Enfield North, in October 2007.

Jim Murphy: My right hon. Friend the Member for Enfield North (Joan Ryan) visited Cyprus from 1 to 4 October 2007, in her capacity as my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's Special Representative to Cyprus. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 14 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 850-851W for details of her programme.

Cyprus

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2008,  Official Report, column 851W, on Cyprus, if he will list the  (a) date,  (b) venue and  (c) people attending each meeting in the UK attended by the hon. Member for Enfield, North in her official capacity as the Government's Special Representative to Cyprus.

Jim Murphy: In her capacity as my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's Special Representative to Cyprus, my right hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, North (Joan Ryan) holds regular meetings in the UK with representatives of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, other interested parties, Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials and Ministers.

Georgia: Elections

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the conduct of the recent presidential elections in Georgia.

Jim Murphy: The Government accept the assessment of the International Election Observation Mission (IEOM), led by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). On 6 January, the IEOM reported in their preliminary findings that the election process
	"was in essence consistent with most OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and standards for democratic elections, [but] significant challenges were revealed which need to be addressed urgently."
	The final assessment of the election, which has not yet issued, depends, in part, on the conduct of the concluding stages of the election process, including the tabulation and announcement of final results and the handling of possible post-election day complaints or appeals. The indications from the OSCE/ODIHR post-election interim report of 18 January, are that there were a number of problems in these areas. The OSCE/ODIHR will issue a comprehensive final report in the coming weeks.
	We, and our EU partners, have urged Georgia to take all necessary steps to address the identified shortcomings in order to ensure successful parliamentary elections later this year. As I said in a public statement on the elections on 7 January, Georgia needs to do more to reinforce the independence of state institutions in a political campaign environment and to strengthen the freedom and pluralism of the media, as well as the independence of the judiciary.

Terrorism: Finance

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out how the £400 million committed during the next three years by his Department, the Department for International Development and the British Council to tackle radicalisation and promote understanding overseas as announced by the Prime Minister in his statement of 14 November 2007,  Official Report, column 668W, on national security, is to be spent.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 31 January 2008
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Dr. Howells) gave to him on 27 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 347-48W, that the Government will report back on action overseas with other countries to counter extremism when we launch the full national security strategy.

Turkmenistan: Human Rights

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Turkmenistan since the death of Saparmurat Niazov in December 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: Since the death of President Niyazov in December 2006 and the election of President Berdimuhamedov in February 2007, there has been some positive progress on human rights. There has been a greater willingness by Turkmenistan to engage on human rights issues with international organisations, including the EU, UN and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Louise Arbour, the UN Human Rights Commissioner, visited Turkmenistan in April 2007 and there is an outstanding invitation to the UN Rapporteur on Religious Freedom to visit. The EU Special Representative for Central Asia, Pierre Morel, and Javier Solana, High Representative for EU Common Foreign and Security Policy, discussed human rights with president Berdimuhamedov on several occasions in 2007, including during Berdimuhamedov's visit to Brussels in November 2007. The first EU-Turkmenistan ad hoc dialogue on human rights took place in Brussels in September 2007. My hon. Friend the Minister for Energy (Malcolm Wicks) raised human rights concerns during his visit to Turkmenistan in September 2007.
	In August 2007, President Berdimuhamedov pardoned and released from prison a number of individuals who had been detained following the coup attempt on President Niyazov in 2002. These included Nasrullah Ibn Ibadullah, the former Chief Mufti. The UK has regularly lobbied for Ibadullah's release, bilaterally and jointly with EU partners, most recently the week before he was pardoned. Internal freedom of movement has improved. Checkpoints and roadblocks have been removed and it is easier for Turkmen citizens to travel to border areas. In contrast to previous practice, the new president has asked the international community to provide scholarships for young citizens of Turkmenistan to study abroad and has publicly encouraged young people to take up these opportunities.
	However, there remains a long way to go. The education system will need time to recover from years of neglect under President Niyazov. There is still no press freedom and no freedom of expression. President Berdimuhamedov has recently made statements criticising the quality of the media, but it is too early to say if this means any relaxation of controls on the media. There is only one political party, and religion and civil society are tightly controlled. Non-governmental organisations registration remains a lengthy and complex process and the Government has not yet addressed this issue.
	The UK will continue to urge Turkmenistan to address human rights issues and will support genuine efforts to do so, both bilaterally and with international partners. We will continue to work through the EU-Turkmenistan ad hoc Dialogue on Human Rights and through the EU's Central Asia Strategy, which has as one of its main themes the support for good governance, rule of law and human rights.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's 2008 Annual Human Rights Report win contain further analysis of the human rights situation in Turkmenistan.

Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of the additional £270 million that he has allocated to tackle healthcare associated infections by 2010-11 will be available in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

Ann Keen: The Department will provide £80 million funding in 2008-09, £200 million in 2010-11 and £270 million in 2010-11, a total of £550 million additional funding over three years, to support the strategy to improve infection prevention and control and improve cleanliness in the national health service.
	For elements of the strategy which require local investments by primary care trust (PCTs) or trusts, the funding will be reflected in future PCT allocations and tariff uplifts. PCT allocations and the national tariff have been issued for 2008-09 and will be issued for 2009-10 and 2010-11 in due course.

Hospitals: Standards

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking in relation to hospitals which are not meeting the Government's core standards on the care of older patients.

Ivan Lewis: National health service organisations are expected to adhere to core standards in their treatment of all patients, as assessed by the Healthcare Commission (HCC). When the HCC find that services are not meeting core standards, it may refer serious failure to the Secretary of State (or for foundation trusts, Monitor) with a recommendation that special measures may be taken. This option is rarely exercised because trust managers and, where appropriate, the strategic health authority (SHA) is expected to act as soon as a failure to reach a core standard is recognised.
	75 per cent. of all inpatients are older people. Many elderly patients find mixed sex accommodation distressing as it reduces their privacy. The 2008-09 Operating Framework sets out an expectation that primary care trusts (PCTs), which are responsible for working with healthcare providers to agree and implement plans for improving services, will set stretching local plans for improvement in performance in reducing mixed sex accommodation. The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement published guidance in December 2007 to help NHS healthcare providers adhere to the requirements of their local PCTs. The guidance clarifies that single-sex accommodation can be provided in single-sex wards, single rooms with adjacent single-sex toilet and washing facilities (preferably en-suite), or single-sex bays within mixed wards.
	Where patient survey scores are available, monitoring should be based on seeking specific improvements in these scores in the next survey. SHAs are responsible for the assurance of these processes and for the performance management of NHS trusts.

Higher Education: Admissions

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much has been spent through  (a) Aimhigher,  (b) bursaries paid out by universities from fee income,  (c) the higher education funding councils and  (d) other public spending on widening access to university in each year since 2001.

Bill Rammell: This Government remain fully committed to widening access to higher education for people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Widening access requires long term investment and change across the higher education system. We have reformed student finance, reintroducing grants and raising the income threshold at which repayments start. No one is required to pay a contribution to their higher education up-front. These reforms, together with Aimhigher, have been instrumental in bringing about progress. The proportion of UK domiciled, young, full time, first degree entrants to English higher education institutions who were from lower socio-economic groups rose from 27.9 per cent. in 2002/03 to 29.1 per cent. in 2005/06.
	Expenditure from 2001-02 to date on widening access is as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Aimhigher and predecessors(1,2) 50 69.5 120 136 102 87 80 
			 Regional Projects(3) 5 5 — — — — — 
			 Student support(4) 1,213 1,096 1,084 1,195 1,405 1,622 1,887 
			 Widening participation allocation(5) 37 48 266 273 284 345 356 
			 University bursaries and outreach(6) — — — — — 116 Not yet available 
			 Total(7) 1,295 1,208.5 1,460 1,604 1,791 2,170 2,323 
			 (1 )The unified Aimhigher programme was introduced in 2004. Predecessor programmes were Excellence Challenge, funded by the then Department for Education and Skills, and Partnerships for Progression, funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). Aimhigher is funded jointly by DIUS, HEFCE, the LSC and the Department for Health. (2) Excellence Challenge included Opportunity Bursaries. These were grants to eligible people from lower income families and were worth £2,000 over three years. From September 2001, 26,000 such bursaries were made available at a total cost of £37 million. With the wider reintroduction of grants in 2006, the Opportunity Bursary scheme was withdrawn. (3 )Funded by HEFCE (4) Includes student loans RAB charge, fee loans, student support grants, Maintenance Grant, HE Grant, grants for vulnerable students, tuition fee grants, grants for part-time students and access funds and bursaries. The student loans RAB charge estimates the future cost to Government of subsidising and writing off the student loans issued in that year; it does not represent the amount of cash lent to students, which has risen each year since the introduction of student loans. (5) These figures also include the allocation to widen access and improve provision for disabled students. (6) The Office for Fair Access forecasts that around £300 million annually will be spent by higher education providers on bursaries and scholarships benefiting students from low-income and other under-represented groups by the academic year 2008/09. (7) In 2001-04, Aimhigher contributed £10 million a year towards the widening participation allocation. The figure given as the total for each of these years is therefore less than the sum of the parts to avoid double counting.

Commission for Africa

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of whether the Government are on course to implement the recommendations made by the Commission for Africa for which it is responsible; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: Many of the recommendations of the Commission for Africa (CfA) were taken up by the G8 at Gleneagles and agreed as collective commitments, including on peace and security, good governance, human development, cancelling debt and promoting growth. To mark the first anniversary of the launch of the CfA report the Government published a detailed report on the UK's contribution to taking forward the Commission's recommendations and ensuring that the other G8 countries deliver on their Gleneagles' commitments. The report was deposited in the Library of both Houses on 9 March 2006.
	I made a written statement to the House on the Gleneagles' commitments on 25 October 2007 (http://www.dfid.gov.uk/g8/alexander-statement.pdf). This showed good progress by the international community on the majority of milestones the UK Government identified as important for the period December 2006 to July 2007, in particular new funding for health, education and infrastructure. The UK has substantially increased its own aid to underpin these efforts: DFID's bilateral spending in Africa for 2007-08 is expected to reach £1.25 billion, up from £850 million in 2004-05.

Redditch Prison

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the effect on costs of the creation of HMP Redditch, broken down by  (a) staffing and  (b) other elements.

David Hanson: As I announced to the House on 29 January, consultation on the name of the planned merger has been extended to 1 March 2008. Any further comments on wider issue would be welcome.
	Following the outcome of the consultation it will be possible to calculate the cost of the exercise. It is expected that the merger will generate cost reductions of £650,000 in 2008-09 and £860,000 in 2009-10, while improving efficiency and effectiveness.

Departmental ICT

Susan Kramer: To ask the Prime Minister how many  (a) male and  (b) female members of staff of his Office were issued with personal digital assistants in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Watson) on 31 January 2008,  Official Report, column 502W.

Departmental Public Relations

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Prime Minister how many external contracts his Office held with public relations companies in each of the last 10 years; and what the total cost of those contracts was.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Watson) on 31 January 2008,  Official Report, column 502W.

Revenue and Customs: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the reasons are for the Milton Keynes tax office's practice of not issuing receipts for tax returns handed in person before the 31 January deadline.

Jane Kennedy: Since 2005 HMRC has adopted a consistent national approach of not issuing receipts for returns handed in to Enquiry Centres. Checking and issuing receipts for returns diverted staff from serving those that need advice and help to complete their forms particularly around the 31 January SA deadline when many hundreds of thousands of tax returns are handed in.

Tolls: Roads

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the factors taken into account by local authorities in deciding whether or not to introduce road-pricing schemes; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 24 January 2008
	I have been asked to reply.
	The Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) will support packages of local measures that tackle congestion problems by combining demand management, including road pricing, with better public transport. These packages will be locally designed solutions to local congestion problems. The factors we expect local authorities to take into account are available in 'TIF: Guidance on Business Case Requirements for Programme Entry' available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/tif/tifguidanceproqrammeentry
	We will formally assess business cases that are submitted against the published criteria.
	We have made no assessment of the factors taken into account by local authorities deciding not to introduce road pricing schemes.

Pensions: Females

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of paying pension credit to women who do not qualify for the full state pension due to broken National Insurance contribution records; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: In 2006-07, the estimated expenditure on pension credit paid to women who do not receive a full basic state pension was around £1.25 billion.
	All our estimates of the cost of the options to allow people to buy extra voluntary national insurance contributions to increase their basic state pension take into account offsets in income-related benefits, including pension credit.
	 Notes:
	1. Data is taken from a 5 per cent. extract of Pensions Strategy Computer System, therefore figures are subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	2. Figures are rounded and expenditure is calibrated to official DWP pension credit annual expenditure figures for 2006-07.
	3. The current full rate of state pension used is as at March 2007, which was £84.25 per week.
	4. Expenditure figures are shown in 2006-07 prices.